


color of life

by yaminogemu



Series: fem/feb but i do what i want [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/F, Mikoto is Tobi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 11:34:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29349765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yaminogemu/pseuds/yaminogemu
Summary: Kushina's soulmate is nowhere near sane.That's okay, Kushina figures few shinobi are. Hazards of the job and all.redor sci-fi
Relationships: Uchiha Mikoto/Uzumaki Kushina
Series: fem/feb but i do what i want [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2164353
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	color of life

_This is color_ , Kushina recognizes at once, instinctively. 

Her enemy is motionless in front of her, single pinpoint of _color_ , the first time Kushina has ever seen such a thing, shining from behind their mask.

Color, from an eye. 

Color from the sharingan.

_Red._

-

Mikoto feels almost certain she will be blinded by the color in front of her. Color, she can see in fucking _color_ . She's found her _soulmate_. She's found the one person on the planet obligated to care.

It's red. She knows it is. Has grown more than accustomed to that particular shade of grey, as she used to see. Before she found her, that is. Her fucking soulmate. 

The bubbling red chakra is massive. One giant tail swings, snapping and popping inches from her face.

Her soulmate, the Kyuubi jinchuuriki.

-

 _It's more than just the eye_ , Kushina thinks as she dodges her soulmate's fire jutsu. 

Less of a fire, really, and more of an inferno.

While she's very happy her soulmate turned out to be an extremely capable shinobi, she'd really rather they stopped trying to kill her.

The Uchiha ( _because they have to be, right? There's Kakashi, who shares Obito’s sharingan, but he's an exception, not the rule,_ ) brings down a weapon Kushina struggles to identify. The chain of it hits the earth with a loud crack, decimating the earth where Kushina stood a moment prior.

Their mask is red.

It's almost like something an ANBU of Konoha would wear: a mask resembling a cat, with a thick red stripe down one side. It looks old, too, as if the mask has spent too long out in the field, where there's no time for proper care.

Maybe that says something about her soulmate, too.

"Can't we talk this through?" She asks cheerfully. The Kyuubi is the only thing keeping her alive right now, distracted as she is. Its corrosive chakra surrounds her, protects her from the blows she fails to avoid. It's not sustainable (eventually the chakra will start to destroy her body instead of healing it) but it might do until she can talk some sense into her Uchiha.

Their coat is red.

Just a little, in shapes that almost look like clouds. At first, Kushina thought it was just her vision adjusting to the new influx of color and perception. But she's beginning to think that its simply a pattern. For what purpose, she's not entirely certain, but all shinobi have their quirks. Far be it for her to judge.

In answer to Kushina's question, her soulmate goes straight for her jugular.

-

Her hair is red.

Mikoto didn't notice at first, what with how the Kyuubi's chakra consumed her soulmate's entire body.

Now, she lays on the ground. Lifeless.

Mikoto tilts her head, studying the body of her supposed intended. She's thin, for one. What are they feeding Konoha shinobi? Obviously, it isn't enough. Mikoto looks healthier, and she spends most of her time in an underground network of caves.

She also doesn't, technically, need to eat, but that's neither here nor there. 

Mikoto allows herself to fall to her knees for a closer look, careful to avoid the steadily growing puddle of blood.

Her blood is red, too. Not that that's entirely surprising.

The forest surrounding them is quiet, peaceful in the wake of their battle. Kushina was a challenging opponent. Mikoto would have expected nothing less from her perfect match. She expects she would have had a much more difficult time, too, if she hadn't had the advantage of being Kushina's newly discovered soulmate. 

_She'd probably prefer dying to hurting me._

Mikoto frowns, lips pursed in thought. The thought wasn't _inaccurate_ , per say. If intel analysis was correct, that was a reasonable conclusion to draw from Kushina's personality and relationships. Mikoto should know her well enough at this point. After all, what better way to even get her out here, isolated and alone, than to use her loved ones against her? She would do anything to keep them safe.

 _She would do anything to keep_ **_me_ ** _safe._

She didn't even know Mikoto.

_I was her soulmate._

Well.

That's true. 

Mikoto reaches out slowly, tentatively. Her hand rests, cupped, against the back of Kushina's head, as she lay face down in the dirt. She can feel the strands of soft hair beneath her fingertips. She can feel the fleeting warmth of her, the tingling aftershocks of chakra use. 

Oh.

Mikoto draws a shuddering breath. Her fingers grip, tangling themselves between red strands.

_Red._

The body in front of her is her soulmate. The body in front of her _was_ her soulmate. Mikoto intended to leave her clinging to life long enough to extract the Kyuubi, but she had been disorientated, distracted. She may have gone too far. She may have killed her outright.

Why does it matter?

_She loved you. She was the only one that would._

It doesn’t matter.

"This world isn't real, this world doesn't matter." She whispers, for no one but her to hear. Her and… Kushina? 

Mikoto hears a helpless groan from the body before her, muffled by the ground below.

She’s alive. Mikoto hasn’t killed her soulmate. At least, not yet.

Mikoto carefully removes the mask and sets it aside. She pushes Kushina's shoulders, nudging her until she's laying on her back instead. Kushina blinks up at the sky blearily before focusing on Mikoto. Mikoto leans over her head, she must be upside down from Kushina's perspective. When Kushina catches sight of her, a smile breaks across her face, teeth warmed red with blood.

"Hello, pretty Uchiha mine." She wheezes through what might be a collapsed lung, actually. That's not ideal. "Are you still trying to kill me?"

"No." Says Mikoto uncertainly.

Kushina's brows furrow. "You don't sound too sure."

"No." Mikoto repeats, hopefully this time with all the confidence in that statement that she doesn't feel. 

"I might die anyway, y'know, if I don't see a medic sometime soon." 

"I can heal you." Hashirama used to do that sort of thing, right? She has his cells, and his bloodline limit, so she probably can too.

Kushina stares up at her, meeting her single eye. Mikoto stares back. Kushina's blinks slow as she begins to slip back into unconsciousness. 

"Name?" Kushina asks, struggling to keep her eyes open.

"I have a few." She admits, raising her hand tentatively and placing it on Kushina's chest. Kushina smiles weakly.

She attempts the same urge, the same _pull_ that directs her to use mokuton. Feels the power rise under her skin, all life and light and growth, everything that Mikoto herself could never be. Imagines it spreading out from her fingertips, stretching along Kushina's body and repairing all the damage Mikoto has done. Kushina sighs in relief. Her body sags as the pain recedes. 

_I could have just used the sharingan to control the Kyuubi._

Absolutely not, Mikoto wouldn't do that. Wouldn't strip away someone's power, someone's free will. The jinchuuriki were meant to be sacrifices. That was honorable. They deserve the respect of a fair fight before the inevitable end.

Besides, Mikoto has always been strong enough to defeat them without it.

_Not strong enough now, though._

She won't take Kushina to the statue. She doesn't know what the plan is beyond that, but for now they're not going.

"You can call me Mikoto."

-

Kushina's soulmate is nowhere near sane.

That's okay, Kushina figures few shinobi are. Hazards of the job and all.

Mikoto stays exactly where she is, sitting vigil over Kushina and using some kind of regenerative chakra. Feels nice. The focus in that solitary eye, though, makes Kushina feel as if she's been flayed open for inspection. Although, well… maybe that description is a little closer to the mark right now than Kushina is comfortable with.

"Mikoto." Kushina speaks her soulmate's name for the first time.

"Kushina."

Kushina smiles. "I think we're off to a great start, what about you?"

**Author's Note:**

> no idea what happened here


End file.
